Earth Day 2011

The Peace Weekly recently editorialized on the many environmental problems facing our society. Earth Day, April 22nd, commemorates our newly found ecological consciousness that began, according to the editorial, in 1969 when a devastating oil spill in California contaminated many of the beaches on the West coast. From this incident the grass-root movement took hold and spread to many other countries of the world.

This will be the 40th year since the first Earth Day of 1970 sought to alert the general public of the dangers to the environment. Buying water instead of drinking water from the the tap is now an accepted practice in many societies. And, increasingly, we are eating organic food to avoid the heavily processed foods on market shelves and the pesticide-sprayed and chemically fertilized produce from our farms. Our air is polluted with green-house gases and acid rain, and now the atmosphere has been further polluted with radioactive particles. Even in Korea, schools have recently given time off from classes  because of the fear of radioactive rain.

Humans are the ones that have caused the problem. God put everything in order and determined it to  be good, and told us to preserve and manage it. This has not been something we have done well, destroying much of what was given to us. We as Church should reflect on what we have done as members of the larger community. Do we see only the earth as a place for humans, and consider material progress and financial betterment as the only values of interest? Have we as  Church gone along with this thinking?

Many still see the preserving of our environment  as something foreign to our faith life. Humans appeared late  on the earth but  have destroyed much of what we were given. It is time for us to realize that the preservation of the environment is our work and we have to be active in its fulfillment. 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church expresses it clearly (2415):  The seventh commandment (thou shalt not steal) enjoins respect for the integrity of creation. Animals are by nature, like plants and inanimate beings, destined for the common good of past, present, and future humanity. Use of the mineral, vegetable, and animal resources of the earth cannot be divorced from respect for moral imperatives. Man's dominion over inanimate and living beings granted by the Creator is not absolute; it is limited by concern for the quality of life of all, including generations to come. It requires a religious respect for the integrity of creation.

A New Beginning In the Taegu Diocese

The Diocese of Taegu is making preparations for the second synod in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the diocese. The Greek word synod means a journey taken together. In English, we would say council. It is a call to all the members of a diocese to come together to discuss important issues confronting the diocese. Some of the issues to be discussed at the Taegu Synod will be addressed under four categories: Evangelization of the young, Evangelization in the new society, Concern of the church for the alienated and marginalized, and The relationship of the diocese with the deaneries and the life of  priests.

The Church in Korea  has had many diocesan synods. The first Taegu synod was  in 1997. "These synods themselves are part of the new evangelization," wrote Pope John Paul in his 1994 apostolic letter. " They were born from the Second Vatican Council's vision of the Church. They open up broad areas for the participation of the laity, whose specific responsibilities in the Church they define. They are an expression of the strength which Christ has given to the entire people of God, making them a sharer in his own messianic mission as prophet, priest and king." (#21)

450 priests, religious and lay people will gather together as delegates,  remembering the words of the bishop who called for the first Korean synod 14 years ago: "Since this was our first synod  we did not know what to expect. We did not cover all we  should have covered," he lamented. "The next  time, having had this experience, the second synod will build on the first synod with wonderful results."

The present intention of the Taegu Synod is to make use of what was learned from the first synod  and add and make up for what was missed the first time. We will adapt, a spokesperson said, to the changing times and consider present problems. The protocol is to have all the delegates vote on all of the the propositions brought before the general assembly. What has the approval of the delegates will be presented to the bishop for his approval; they then will be promulgated  to the diocese as their future work.

The Mass inaugurating the synod was celebrated on April 8th. The first meeting of the general assembly will be on June 12th. Four committees will meet to draw up guidelines prior to the first meeting of all the delegates. The work of the synod is expected to last for a number of years, and they are asking for our prayers for a successful conclusion.

The Korean Church has shown a great interest in these synods but the results have not always been successful. A lot of money has been spent with great expectations, but also with some misgivings. It's perhaps a necessary first step in breaking down some of the thinking from the top-down approach to governance to a bottom-up approach. The bottom-up style--a difficult and often bothersome way of solving problems--will take some time to get used to, but Taegu is showing us the way. May this second attempt be a lesson to the whole Korean Church of what is possible.

The Joy of Easter

The Desk  Columnist of the Catholic Times tells us about a grandmother that had nothing to be happy about and yet was happy. By the standards of our society she should have been pitied. Her husband and child had died many years earlier; she was poor and had no one to look after her, and yet when the writer visited her, she was singing doing the housework.

Reflecting on his own life, the writer had everything going for him, and yet he was not as happy as the  grandmother. He asked her what gave her such joy in life. She said with a smile that she is living with the Lord and how could she not be happy and thankful. The writer was embarrassed but remembered that faith --not knowing, thinking, and talking a lot--is crucial to a fulfilling life, a life lived with with the Lord, the way the grandmother was doing.

Faith is meeting the Lord daily and sharing what is received with others. A faith life is not something added on, but the very life itself. It is relating with Jesus in a personal way: sincerely, obeying  his will, responding to his love. Going to church, knowing  the scriptures, and praying is just one part of a faith life: our life has to manifest what we believe.

Our faith life is nurtured by the scriptures and  sermons, helping us to live a mature faith life. When we meet trials, we know what our attitude and  responses should be. However, it is not uncommon that when trials come, we lament and fear overcomes us. At that time, everything that we thought we knew disappears. Doing the will of God at that time seems very remote: we indulge in resentment, fear and despair. Life goes one way and our beliefs another.This is called by some the "separate rice soup" approach to life: you get the soup and rice separately. You can put the rice into the soup or eat it separately. It's your choice. When you go to Church you are a believer, otherwise life runs its own course.

Today is Easter.  Celebrating Easter for us is the climax of the liturgical year. It is a time when we are encouraged to renew our life according to our belief, not once a year but every day of our life, and especially during the difficult times. Experiencing the grace-given Easter joy in life, as our grandmother did, is the way a Christian gives proof of Easter. A Happy Easter to all.

Returing to the Past with the Seven Last Words.

Some years ago a very musically talented Augustinian Father arranged to have  a Tenebrae Service on the last seven words of Jesus on the cross, on Holy Saturday morning in a parish in Incheon. The service was beautifully done and had great meaning for the congregation.  The altar had a candelabra  with 7 candles lit and the Paschal Candle that represented Christ was on the side. After the reading and the meditation on each of the  words, we had an interlude with music. After the last candle of the candelabra candle was extinguished the Paschal candle was removed.  The music performed was Haydn's for a string quartet.


The service was explained by Haydn himself in an introduction to the composition of his work on the Seven Last Words:

  Some fifteen years ago I was requested by a canon of Cádiz to compose instrumental music on the seven last words of Our Savior on the Cross. It was customary at the Cathedral of Cádiz to produce an oratorio every year during Lent, the effect of the performance being not a little enhanced by the following circumstances. The walls, windows, and pillars of the church were hung with black cloth, and only one large lamp hanging from the center of the roof broke the solemn darkness. At midday, the doors were closed and the ceremony began. After a short service the bishop ascended the pulpit, pronounced the first of the seven words (or sentences) and delivered a discourse thereon. This ended, he left the pulpit and fell to his knees before the altar. The interval was filled by music. The bishop then in like manner pronounced the second word, then the third, and so on, the orchestra following on the conclusion of each discourse. My composition was subject to these conditions, and it was no easy task to compose seven adagios lasting ten minutes each, and to succeed one another without fatiguing the listeners; indeed, I found it quite impossible to confine myself to the appointed limits.

These services were very common in the past but after  Vatican II because of the change of time to the evening for the   Good Friday Service,  the practice of the Seven Last Words disappeared, for the most part. You do have it in convents and monasteries and also in certain parishes but  no longer has the prominence as in the past. Having the service on Saturday morning was very appropriate and makes the building up to the last three days with the Seven Last Words  a fitting preamble to the  Climax at the  Easter Saturday Vigil Mass.

Surfing to  see what was listed under Seven Last Words in Korean I was surprised to see so many Protestant Churches having the service.One of the most beautiful meditations that I have read on the 7 last words was by a Protestant minister. You also see some ministers recommending the rosary to their congregations. The praying modes of the different Christian Communities should be something that we should be able to accept. The Protestant musical tradition has entered the Catholic Church, and the Protestants are being attracted to many of the Catholic prayer forms. This should be a help in  understanding each other with fewer misunderstandings, and  giving us a common desire to be closer in discipleship to Jesus.

"Examine My Hands" Good Friday Meditation

Writing in the "With Bible" magazine a Religious sister recalls her visit to a convent with a deaf person, during which they attended a Mass. She watched carefully as a sister at the front of the church passed along to the hard of hearing the words of the Mass and what was occurring on the altar, using not only her hands but her body to communicate. She wondered if there was any more beautiful way of giving praise than the soft and easy movements of the hands to form words, and the singing responses in sign language. It was, she said, like heat waves of life dancing in the air on a spring day.

For many centuries, artists have used the 14 stations of the cross as subjects for their art. She mentions a modern day rendition that appears in one of the churches in Seoul: the stations are depicted solely by the different positions of the 'hands of Jesus' carved in relief.

The hands are in different sizes, positions, textures and in a variety of frames.Each one separately can be seen as a unique masterpiece: hands supporting the cross, perplexed hands on the ground, violent hands grabbing the clothing, spastic  hands receiving the nails, entrusting hands after death. There is no extravagance in the expression of pain and anguish. Instead, the artistic description follows the  laws of the medium and is restrained in expression. Standing before the station, one is not overcome by the suffering  and extreme sadness but what is seen elicits repentance and regret. The form has been refined so it is not the emotions that are moved but one is still left with the meaning.

Jesus used his hands often in his ministry: Touching the lepers, blessing the children, holding simple food in his hands, washing the feet of his disciples, and finally stretching his hands out on the cross, and, after death, showing his hands to his disciples so they would know he was the one that walked with them before death.

The sister reflects on where the hands of Jesus might be found today. Haven't they been bequeathed through the Church to  us? she asks. They are a poor replacement, she admits,  but we, as Church, are his tools--weak and deficient as we may be. "My grace is enough for you, for in weakness power reaches perfection" (II Cor. 12:9). She ends her article by reminding us that it is all grace.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Paris Foreign Missioners In Korea

An interview with Fr. Georges Colomb, Superior General of the Paris Foreign Mission  Society (MEP), was written up in the recent Catholic Times. Korean Catholics, he said, invited the missioners to come to their country, and not  an invitation from Rome.  This desire of the Korean Catholics moved the hearts of the early French missioners, even though knowing that death awaited them in coming to Korea.

The early years of missionary work in Korea were not always without problems, but the  early missioners were still able to send three seminarians to Macau, as support from MEP continued unabated. Ten of the missioners died a martyr's death and there is no regret. The faith and sincerity of the early Christians were repaid by the love and sacrifice of the missioners.

The growth in the  number of clergy in Korea is due in part to the influence of the Paris Foreign missioners. This was the initial intention of the missioners and the first goal of the society, in contrast to the situation in the Philippines and Indonesia where the religious orders where the  evangelizers.

In Asia, from the time of the beginning of the Paris Foreign Missionary Society in 1658, more than 120 dioceses have been established and 5000 seminarians formed. Except for Cambodia, all the different areas have a smaller number of Paris Foreign Missioners doing mission work, but in recent times we are seeing , he said, an increase in the numbers entering the society. Presently, there are 20 seminarians in formation. This year we had three deacons and three priests ordained. In June, we are looking forward to  having four more ordained to the priesthood.

Fr.Colomb mentioned that 10 years ago the society started a program for associate members, and a program for lay volunteers. The volunteers are trained and, under the auspices of the society, sent to experience the life of a missioner, many of them eventually entering the society.

The MEP are considered married to the country where they are sent, feeling a connection not only with its history but with its language, culture, and traditions. The society is  happy to see the  dynamism of the different churches in Asia, and the missioners continue to work for the formation of the local clergy. As long as there is even one missioner left, he will be united with the local clergy. Having left their own country for the mission country, missioners remain wedded to that country for eternity.
 

Another Way of Seeing the Japanese Tragedy

  Another columnist in the Catholic Times returns to the subject of the recent Japanese tragedy: the earthquake, the tsunami and, making matters worse, the nuclear radiation--all adding to the great  suffering of the Japanese people.  She reflects on the her own life with gratitude but is it possible, she asks, to feel at peace when so many others are suffering?

She mentions that the Japanese ambassador, who attended the Korea Hope Concert, thanked the Koreans in flawless Korean for their help. It was not difficult to understand  why the entertainers who participated in the concert wanted to raise money, since Japan has been very receptive to the Korean world of entertainment. It was not so easy to understand the help that came from the 'comfort women, who for years demonstrated before the Japanese Embassy and saw many of their members  die  without  receiving recognition from the Japanese government. This brought tears to the eyes of many.

The columnist mentions that the Koreans, known to be a warm and compassionate people who in their 5,000 year history have been invaded hundreds of times, have not once invaded another country. That should be sufficient proof of their outstanding  character.  In contrast, the Japanese could be described as cold-headed or, more accurately, persons of reason. We can congratulate them on their calmness and order during this tragedy. They have been educated from an early age to be concerned for others and not to inflict harm on others.

These are wonderful attributes, she goes on to say, but is curious to know why Japan is not  known as a country  concerned with the needs of other countries. The Tokdo island (now occupied by the Koreans but claimed  by the Japanese) is still an unresolved controversy. And why, without a word of explanation or warning, did they release radioactive contamination into the ocean? Nonetheless, during the disaster Korea has continued to help.

Japan has many reasons to be thankful to Korea. The culture and art of the Paik-chei kingdom flowed into Japan and continued even later at the time of the  invasion of Korea by the Japanese in 1592. And they still refuse to correct the mistakes in their history books by giving a correct understanding of history to future generations of Japanese.

She recalled that Pope John Paul asked for forgiveness from the world for faults of the Church during its long history. The columnist wishes, as she continues to give to the suffering people of Japan, that the Japanese would reflect on their history--in the manner of John Paul--and ask for forgiveness from the countries she has harmed with invasion and pillage, and  be 'born again' with a good, friendly policy toward her neighbors.

A history of suffering at the hands of another is very difficult to forget; we know memories tend to linger within a culture and in the hearts of those who have been subjugated. It  should be a lesson to keep before our eyes even when we continue to do all that is necessary to show our love for those in pain, despite the pain they have caused others.